When Kyle reached out to me about shooting his wedding, it was a nice surprise – I knew him through work I’ve done for the company he works for – LeadPlan Marketing (they’re in Traverse City and they help businesses design their websites, get better internet presence through SEO, and handle their marketing – and when you do all that you need photos – that’s where I come in).
When a couple books their wedding photography with me, I always offer to do an engagement portrait session as a little bonus. Hayden & Kyle took me up on that offer. They decided on a Friday Evening shoot that just happened to fall on the next to last day of Cherry Festival. For those of you that don’t know – Cherry Fest is one of the busiest weeks in Traverse City in the summer. There are literally people everywhere. I thought that this session was going to be a challenge to get shots of just the two of them without anyone in the background or in the periphery – especially when they asked for some photos on the beach at Clinch Park.
I met Kyle & Hayden at Brew in downtown Traverse City about an hour before sunset where we went over some location options and looked at a few photo inspirations before we got started. I had chosen a few spots along the Boardman River where there is a nice boardwalk with excellent areas of open shade, and we began there. We looped around downtown to the footbridge near the Warehouse District, and then over to the beach just in time for sunset. We ended our shoot at the festival midway as the carnival lights grew brighter in the dusky hour.
Hayden & Kyle were so wonderful to work with. They posed naturally and made each other laugh – which allowed me to capture these great moments between them. They’re getting married today and I’m looking forward to creating images that they’ll enjoy for the rest of their lives together.
